These shows were packed with big variety without the vulgarity.” In fact, local papers promoted ‘Clean Bills’ which referred to shows where good clean fun was guaranteed. Clean comedians were the norm… While there were many ‘off color’ entertainers to choose from, the general public appreciated the clean comedians. While many comedians swore up a storm off stage, they were what would later be called ‘fun for the whole family’ onstage. talent agency that helps clients book clean comedians for events, in the 1920s, “comedy abounded with racial stereotypes… but sexual language and obscenity was frowned upon.
Broadcasters, audiences and lawmakers have been telling comedians what they’re ‘allowed’ to joke about for years. Don’t be fooled we’ve been talking about what comedians are ‘allowed’ to say for literally everįirst of all, we're not in some new and terrible period of censorship where comedy is under attack. Instead, all they’re really doing is being precious about their privilege. But it’s funny (though not funny haha, to be clear): despite what they think, these dudes aren’t scoring points in a debate about free speech.
And David Zucker, the writer and director of comedy classic Airplane! as well as other, um, classic films like BASEketball and Scary Movie 3 through 5, just wrote a meandering op-ed about how he could never make a movie like Airplane! today because ‘wokeism’ is ruining comedy. In Chappelle’s latest rant about how he has been unfairly cancelled (which was delivered to what looks like a packed audience of fans, just for the record) he snarkily asserted that Hannah Gadsby, who has criticized both Chappelle and Netflix over the transphobia in The Closer, is not funny, playing into the lingering stereotype that women are incapable of grasping humour.